W.C. Falkner
William Clark Falkner (July 6, 1826 - November 6, 1889) was an American poet, prose writer, soldier, lawyer, politician, and businessman.Some scholars give his birth year as 1825; William Clark Falkner, Mississippi Writers' Project, University of Mississippi. Web, Aug. 11, 2013. Falkner wrote novels, poems, a travelogue, and at least one play. He is most notable for the influence he had on the work of his great-grandson, author William Faulkner. Life Born in Knox County, Tennessee, Falkner moved at a young age with his family to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. At 17 he moved to and Pontotoc, Mississippi where he lived with his uncle, and then settled in Ripley, Tippah County, in northern Mississippi. In 1845 he helped capture an axe murderer, and wrote his first work (a pamphlet, The Life and Confession of A.J. MacCannon, Murderer of the Adcock Family) that saved MacCannon from being lynched. Falkner served in the Mexican-American War After the war ended, he practiced law in Ripley and married Holland (Pearce), who died in 1849.Colonel William Clark Falkner reigns over Ripley Cemetery, Graveyard Rabbit, Blogspot. Web, Feb. 17, 2013. He then married Elizabeth Houston (Vance), who outlived him.William Clark Falkner, Find a Grave. Web, Feb. 17, 2013. When the American Civil War broke out, Falkner raised a company of men and was made colonel in the Second Mississippi Infantry of the Confederate Army. After being demoted in an election of officers, he raised his own regiment, known as the 1st Regiment, Mississippi Partisan Rangers and later as the 7th Regiment, Missisisippi Cavalry. 1st Regiment, Mississippi Partisan Rangers (Falkner’s), aka 7th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry, Mississipiscv.org, Web He was forever known as "Colonel Falkner" or just "The Old Colonel" after the war. During Reconstruction, he was active in rebuilding northern Mississippi and founded the Ship Island, Ripley, and Kentucky Railroad Company. The first station on the line north of Ripley was located in what is now the community of Falkner. On November 5, 1889, after having just been elected to serve in the Mississippi legislature, he was shot by Richard Jackson Thurmond, a former business partner. He died the next day. Writing Falkner's most famous work was a novel titled The White Rose of Memphis (New York, G.W. Carleton & co.; 1881), a murder mystery set on board a steamboat of the same name. This work was popular enough to be reprinted several times in the late 19th and early 20th century. Recognition As a child, Falkner's great-grandson William Faulkner is reported to have said, "I want to be a writer like my great-granddaddy." The elder Falkner served as the model for the character of Colonel John Sartoris, who appeared in Faulkner's novels Sartoris (1929) (reissued in an expanded edition as Flags in the Dust (1973)) and The Unvanquished (1938) as well as a number of short stories. Thus, Colonel Falkner is the inspiration for an integral part of the history of Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Publications Poetry *''The Siege of Monterey. Cincinnati, OH: privately published, 1851. Play *"The Lost Diamond". [Published in the ''Ripley Advertiser; specifics unknown], 1867. Fiction *''The Spanish Heroine''. Cincinnati, OH: I. Hart, 1851. *''The White Rose of Memphis. New York: G.W. Dillingham, 1881. *''The Little Brick Church. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1882. *''Lady Olivia: A Novel''. New York: G.W. Dillingham, 1895. Non-fiction *''The Life and Confession of A.J. MacCannon, Murderer of the Adcock Family''. information unknown, 1845. *''Rapid Ramblings in Europe. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1882. ''Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the University of Mississippi.William Clark Falkner, Mississippi Writers Project, University of Mississippi. Web, Feb. 17, 2013. See also *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Books * ;About * William Clark Falkner at Mississippi Writers Project. * Old Colonel William Clark Falkner at Mississippi Writers and Musicians. *Biography of Colonel William Clark Falkner 1825-1889 at Rootsweb *William Falkner at Find a Grave Category:1825 births Category:1889 deaths Category:People from Knox County, Tennessee Category:19th-century American railroad executives Category:American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Category:American novelists Category:American poets Category:American travel writers Category:Assassinated American politicians Category:Deaths by firearm in Mississippi Category:Confederate States Army officers Category:Businesspeople from Mississippi Category:Mississippi politicians Category:Murdered businesspeople Category:Murdered writers Category:People from Missouri Category:People from Pontotoc County, Mississippi Category:People murdered in Mississippi Category:People of Mississippi in the American Civil War Category:19th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Poets murdered